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Interviews+Assessments Secondary RGB

Virtual interviews, offers and joining

Virtual interviews, offers and joining

Virtual interviews - hints and tips

We’re doing our online interviews using Microsoft Teams. It’s free for candidates to download and easy to setup. Each candidate is sent a personalised “invite to interview” email that contains the secure link to their online interview session as well as instructions on how to download and use the app.

Microsoft Teams works on mobiles, tablets and PCs with cameras making it a widely accessible method for online interviews

On the day of your interview:

  • Make sure your laptop, smartphone or tablet is fully charged
  • Find a suitable and quiet spot in your home, where you’ll be comfortable for the duration. And don't worry, the interviewers will be understanding if children and/or pets pop up to say hello, they’ll be in the same situation too!
  • Test your internet connection to ensure it’s working
  • Test your webcam/phone camera and audio are both working, and you’ve turned your speakers on
  • Happy with your picture quality? Try adjusting your camera or lighting and avoid bright lights in the background e.g. windows
  • What to wear; smart/casual

During your interview:

  • Remember, be yourself and try to relax
  • Your body language should be the same as if you were in interviewing in person, such as hand gestures, nodding and smiling to show you are engaged and maintaining eye contact with your interviewers
  • When on a PC/Mac you’ll see a small window with your camera view (what the interviewers can see) and on the large screen you should see your interviewer(s)
  • When on a mobile you’ll see yourself in a larger window.

Virtual offers

To comply with social distancing requirements, we’re making some job offers following a virtual interview instead of face-to-face as part of the assessment process.

We need to comply with the Home Office’s temporary measures regarding the right to work document verification (documents must be verified by the candidate holding the originals to the camera) therefore as a minimum we can only make job offers to those who pass the mandatory pre-employment screening checks too.

For those who can prove their right to work status to an employer digitally, you will be asked to generate a ShareCode and share this with the hiring manager, who will complete the online right to work check.

Joining remotely

Almost all our roles are advertised with a physical base location. However, we're open to flexible working requests at any time and, in response to Coronavirus in line with the Government direction, roles that are not in the key worker category should be performed by remote working from home.

We're finding the best solutions to get people the equipment and systems access they need with minimal travel. 

New joiners are usually teamed up with a buddy and you'll be able to chat/meet/share regularly via Teams, if face-to-face isn't an option.